High speed superconducting generator

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation under USAF sponsorship is currently involved in a technology development program directed toward the design, construction, and test of a 12,000 rpm, ac generator, with a design capability of 10 MVA, utilizing a superconducting field winding. The first phase of this program, which was completed in early 1974, demonstrated that a four-pole superconducting rotor could be spun at 12,000 rpm with the field excited to the design current level. This program is currently in its second phase with the construction of a complete generator. The design of the second-phase rotor is generally based on the information obtained from the phase-one effort and involves design changes in the superconducting coils, insulation system, helium flow scheme, and mechanical approach. It is intended that full-power tests on the complete generator be conducted in 1977. This paper will review the generator design with special emphasis on the cryogenic and mechanical features. Design changes relative to the phase-on rotor will be discussed, followed by a review of the test objectives. Finally certain features of future machine designs and requirements will be discussed.